New Zealand's Low-Emission Future

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Tuesday, 8 August 2017

by Catherine Leining, Policy Fellow at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

Every tramper knows the value of good gear. A well-designed backpack
that distributes the weight to the areas of greatest strength can transform the
experience of a challenging bushwalk.

The changes to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ
ETS) announced
by the government last month will usefully equip the system for the journey
to net-zero domestic emissions. Like a good backpack, they offer a sturdy
framework for distributing mitigation responsibilities and costs across the
economy. However, we still do not know what route lies ahead, what pace we will
set, what provisions will sustain our efforts, and who will carry the heaviest
weight.

The government has not altered our path through 2020. What
longer-term changes can we expect to see in the NZ ETS?

Monday, 7 August 2017

Following the US announcement that they would withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement, we asked if New Zealand should follow suit. A whopping of 92 percent of Kiwis disagreed, not wanting our country to follow President Trump’s decision. New Zealanders are even more united in their commitment to the Paris Accord than Australians who show 87 percent support.

Last week, Pure Advantage released the results of their Climate Survey which talked to 1000 New Zealanders about their perspectives on New Zealand’s climate policy position. The results show that a vast proportion of New Zealanders have the appetite required to effect change and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

In our report, we explore how New Zealand, a trailblazer for emissions trading, might drive a low-emission transformation, both at home and overseas.

Turning off the tap

Emitting greenhouse gases is a lot like overflowing a bathtub. Even a slow trickle will eventually flood the room.

The Paris Agreement gives all countries a common destination: net zero emissions during the second half of the century. It is also an acknowledgement that the world has only a short time to turn the tide on emissions and limit global temperature rise to below two degrees. The sooner we turn down the tap, the more time we have for developing solutions.

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

There are practical ways to change the NZ ETS so it delivers clear and predictable emission price signals. This would ensure that New Zealand’s emitters reduce their greenhouse gases more quickly than is currently happening.

A new paper released today by Motu Economic and Public Policy Research suggests a package of changes to improve the NZ ETS. The proposal emerged from discussions over the past year among diverse cross-sector experts involved in Motu’s ETS Dialogue.

Friday, 28 April 2017

by Susan Livengood, Director of Partnerships for the Deep South National Science Challenge.

As New Zealand counts the cost of widespread flooding this month, a new report identifies key questions we need to answer to better prepare our coastal communities for climate change.

The Insurance, housing and climate adaptation report, commissioned by the Deep South National Science Challenge, highlights issues New Zealand may face as it grapples with “increasingly severe risks” for coastal housing – particularly sea level rise which is expected to exacerbate the frequency and impacts of flooding and storm surges.

It was hard not to think of this report as I drove along the Thames Coast Road in the wake of last week’s storms. Huge boulders lay on the road, pohutukawa trees ripped from the earth by landslides lay dying in the sea, and the splash of waves on the road reminded me just how susceptible to sea level rise this area is.

Wednesday, 15 February 2017

More than a year has passed since the signing of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in which developed, emerging and developing countries across the world have pledged to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) as a start toward limiting dangerous climate change. Under the Agreement, countries can work together to reduce emissions. Mike Toman, a Lead Economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group, and Motu’s Suzi Kerr have come up with three basic guidelines for financing of emissions reductions in less economically advanced countries:1. Do not conflate “international carbon markets” with “internationally transferred mitigation outcomes.”2. Be cautious about the apparent gains from linking emissions trading markets.3. Create contracts between developed and developing country governments for internationally transferred mitigation obligations.

Tuesday, 20 December 2016

by Catherine Leining, Ceridwyn Roberts, and Suzi Kerr of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust.

In
November 2016, Motu surveyed 360 people interested in climate change policy and
had 81 responses. The survey was designed to help assess the impacts of Motu’s
programme ‘Shaping New Zealand’s Low-Emission Future’ and its cross-stakeholder
Emissions Trading Scheme and Low-Emission Future Dialogues as well as inform
future programme planning. As a ‘thank you’ to all those who took part Motu
will purchase and plant six trees through the Wellington City Council’s ‘Two Million Trees’ initiative.

We
feel encouraged that more than three quarters of respondents agree or strongly
agree that Motu’s work has enhanced the quality of policy discussion on climate
change mitigation and that more than four fifths of respondents regard Motu as
a credible source of independent expert information on climate change
mitigation.

About this Blog

What are New Zealand’s possible pathways toward a global low-emission future, and what important choices lie ahead? This blog creates a forum for sharing information and perspectives about the mitigation challenges that New Zealand faces, the assets that we have, the solutions that might be developed or adapted, the lessons we can learn from overseas and the experience that we can offer to other countries.

This blog is part of Motu's Low-Emission Future project. See our about page for more information on the blog and see here for more information about the project.

The posts and comments on this blog are the views of the specific author; they are not the views of the author's organisation, other contributors, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, the programme's funders, or the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute.